Beyond Co-Op - July 28th through August 3rd, 2013

Quakecon weekend, Bioshock Infinite DLC, Everquest Next

Welcome to Beyond Co-Op, the weekly piece where we look at industry news that may or may not directly relate to cooperative gaming. We're rapidly approaching the Fall season, a time of year that's normally pretty busy for gamers, but with two new console launches it should be extra crazy. Enjoy this quiet time folks, we're gonna be overstimulated before we know it.

Sony Online Entertainment has revealed Everquest Next, the new MMORPG set for release sometime in the near future. While a new MMO isn't news itself, some of what Sony is trying to do with the game is. First, the entire thing is built with Voxels - think Minecraft. Voxels are just square building blocks of the world helping make everything destructible, don't worry, the game looks a million times better than Minecraft. There's also a lot of changes to things like combat, class systems, experience, and in general what you DO in the game. It really sounds like they've gone outside the box for Everquest Next. 

2K have announced a pair of content packs for Bioshock Infinite. The first is out immediately and is called Clash in the Clouds. It's an arena based mode for players to take on enemies, practice their skills, and just generally focus on combat. The next two packs though, look far more interesting. Set in Rapture (yes, the underwater Rapture from Bioshock 1 and 2) - you'll control either Booker OR Elizabeth in a brand new story. Here's the really interesting thing, it's Rapture early in its life, full of people and prosperity. 

Clash in the Clouds is out now for $5. The other two packs have no release date or price, but all are included in the game's season pass.

There was a time where we thought Batman: Arkham Origins might have co-op. Sadly it looks like that rumor has been put to rest with the announcement of the game's competitive multiplayer mode. The mode puts players in the role of one of three factions: the heroes (Batman and Robin), Bane's elite thugs (three players) and the Joker's elite thugs (three players). The game will play differently depending on which faction players choose and there's customization options depending on who you choose. There are some hands on impressions of the game at Polygon.

Source: Polygon

The 17th year of QuakeCon is happening right now in Texas, an event that started as one of the largest LAN parties in the world. Now that id Software is part of Bethesda the event has actually been filled with a bit of news and announcements.  

This year while the hopes of Doom 4 were dashed, we did get a Bethesda announcement regarding the Elder Scrolls franchise. Every single Elder Scrolls title is packaged into one set along with the expansion for just $79.99. This goes back to the original Daggerfall all the way through Skyrim.

Also this weekend on Steam is a package of every id and Bethesda game available for 75% off. Get some.